Plansee reports record sales of over €2 billion
July 13, 2022
The Plansee Group, headquartered in Reutte, Austria, has reported record sales of €2.02 billion in the fiscal year 2021/22, up 56% from the previous year. Excluding the effect of fully consolidating the Ceratizit subsidiary for the first time, the increase in sales would have been 15%, the company added.
General conditions for the year were said to be anything but favourable, with disrupted supply chains, significant increases in raw material costs and long delivery times presenting the Plansee Group with major challenges. However, the strong economy, internal improvement measures and the full consolidation of the hard metal subsidiary Ceratizit led the Tyrolean Group to a new sales record.
“First the pandemic, then supply chain problems, now the Ukraine war. These challenges were and are a major effort for our employees and managers. A major effort that we are successfully mastering,” stated Karlheinz Wex, spokesman of the Plansee Group Executive Board, at a press event in Reutte.
Looking ahead to the current fiscal year, Wex was optimistic about the first half of the year. The Plansee Group is on solid economic footing and the order books are well filled. At the same time, however, Wex also pointed to the risks: the unpredictable consequences of the Ukraine war, uncertain gas supplies, rising inflation, increasing trade barriers between countries and regions, and excessive stockpiling in some supply chains. “This is causing us problems and will have an impact on our economic development in the second half of the year,” commented Wex.
With the acquisition of Ceratizit, the Plansee Group is reported to have reorganised its tungsten powder production to be more competitive. It is increasingly based on recycling, and to meet its ambitious recycling targets, Ceratizit has launched an initiative to recover and recycle as much tungsten scrap as possible. The recycled tungsten is used in the Plansee Group to manufacture new products. Modern recycling technologies ensure that products made from recycled tungsten have identical properties to products made from virgin tungsten.
Manufacturing sites
At the Group’s largest production site, in Breitenwang/Reutte (Austria), a new production hall for Ceratizit is close to completion. The photovoltaic system installed on the roof with a maximum output of 385 kilowatts in the first expansion stage will soon be put into operation. Plansee has also built a new sintering plant and expanded production capacity for components for medical technology and the semiconductor industry. The site increased its production output by 23% to €747 million in the past fiscal year. A total of €62 million was invested in tangible assets in Breitenwang/Reutte in fiscal 2021/22. In the Group as a whole, the figure was €154 million. The Group spent €86 million euros on innovation.
Plansee reported that the repositioning of the Mamer (Luxembourg) site has been completed. Here, the foundations were laid for the plant to focus even more strongly in the future on the production of wear-resistant components made of carbide for the manufacturing industry and cutting inserts for the tool industry.
All activities relating to the production of tungsten powder from ore or scrap at the Towanda site (USA) have been integrated into the Ceratizit business area. The site’s energy and environmental performance is particularly good due to the high proportion of recycled tungsten scrap used in production. Compared to production from tungsten ore, energy consumption and CO2 emissions are significantly lower in the recycling process.
Outlook
The Plansee Group expects difficult external conditions to continue in the current fiscal year. Rising electricity and gas prices, rising inflation, logistics and supply problems in the procurement markets and a lack of skilled workers in several professions are among the challenges.
Markets in mechanical engineering, the semiconductor industry and medical technology continue to develop positively. “The good demand in these industries shows that our products and tools made from the materials molybdenum and tungsten will continue to be in demand in many high-tech applications in the future,” added Wex. With the further powerful implementation of the internal optimisation project “better together” in the next two years, strategic company acquisitions and process improvements, the Plansee Group continues to work on positioning itself even more efficiently and competitively.
Discover more about Plansee in our report: A ‘hidden champion’ of PM: Celebrating a century of innovation and success at Plansee
